Flying

Business aircraft flying activity in the U.S. fell 2.2 percent in December, compared with the same month a year ago, according to data from aviation services company Argus. While Part 91 (corporate) flying increased 2.1 percent compared with December 2010, fractional and charter flights declined 3.6 and 8.4 percent respectively.

Maurício Botelho resigned as chairman of the board of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer “for personal reasons" on January 13. Vice chairman Hermann Wever will fill the top job until the company elects a new chairman. Botelho, who served as president and CEO of Embraer from 1995 to 2007, led its restructuring, growth and globalization efforts.

Chef in the Sky, a new service from London-based caterer Alison Price On Air, provides personal chefs aboard business jet flights. Customers can choose from a preselected menu with paired wines or design their own multicourse feasts.

Anjet has opened an office in Hong Kong to complement its California-based operations. The charter company will cater to the private aviation needs of clients in China, South Korea, Singapore, India, the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding areas.

If you regularly bring pets aboard your aircraft, you might be interested in an upcoming seminar hosted by Sit 'n Stay Global. The three-hour course, set for January 18 in Long Beach, Calif., will cover how to properly prepare a cabin for a pet passenger, how to secure the pet inflight, evacuation procedures and pet first aid.

The Jet Business, which bills itself as “the world’s first corporate aviation showroom for business jet aircraft,” opens its doors this month at One Grosvenor Place in central London. The showroom, which will be open by appointment only, boasts a full-scale cabin mockup of an Airbus Corporate Jet in its front window.

On December 23, Embraer rolled out the first midsize Legacy 500 from the production hangar at the company’s São José dos Campos, Brazil headquarters. “This is a significant day for the Legacy 500 program,” said Embraer Executive Jets vice president of programs Maurício Almeida.

The number of non-fatal accidents involving U.S.-registered business jets nearly doubled from 16 in 2010 to 31 last year, according to statistics compiled by BJT sister publication Aviation International News. During the same period, the number of accidents involving U.S.-registered turboprops increased from 32 to 43.

Quote/Unquote

“When you get into the larger aircraft it becomes like a hotel, with dozens of staff supporting the plane based in a galley area down below. You have very comprehensive cooking facilities, and on larger aircraft we have looked at theatres, with spiral staircases and a Steinway grand piano. The limitations for what you can put inside a plane are pretty much the limits of physics, and even money cannot always overcome that. Even so, people are still always trying to push [the limits]. ”